Alfie (1966)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Bill Naughton (play)
Bill Naughton (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 August 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Michael Caine is Alfie is Wicked !

Plot:

For Alfie, the only real life is sex life; only then can he kid himself he is living. Sex is not used as the working-class boy's way to 'the top'...

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Courage | Womanizer | Male Female Relationship | Swinging London

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Alfie Elkins
Shelley Winters	...	Ruby
Millicent Martin	...	Siddie
Julia Foster	...	Gilda
Jane Asher	...	Annie
Shirley Anne Field	...	Carla
Vivien Merchant	...	Lily
Eleanor Bron	...	The Doctor
Denholm Elliott	...	The Abortionist
Alfie Bass	...	Harry Clamacraft
Graham Stark	...	Humphrey
Murray Melvin	...	Nat
Sydney Tafler	...	Frank

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Stereo (Turner Classic Movies version)

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) (video rating) (1995) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:18A | West Germany:18 (nf) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1972)

Filming Locations:

Tower of London, Whitechapel, London, England, UK

Company:

Lewis Gilbert

Trivia:

Alfie! opened at the Morosco Theater on December 17, 1964 and ran for 21 performances.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Fly-wire visible on the guy who is thrown through the paneling at the end of the pub fight.

Quotes:

[final words of the film]
Alfie: You know what? When I look back on my little life and the birds I've known, and think of all the things they've done for me and the little I've done for them, you'd think I've had the best of it along the line. But what have I got out of it? I've got a bob or two...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The She-Creature (#9.8)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Alfie

Great period piece dealing with universal questions

This movie has long been one of my favorites. It is one of the few quintessentially "60's" movies, using filming methods that were quite unusual at the time (the direct dialogue between the main character and the audience, for example). While its style is clearly confined to that era, and England in particular, its subject matter is profoundly universal.

The subjects of love and devotion, or more accurately their opposites, philandering and infidelity, are treated with a unique sensitivity in the script. Michael Caine is at once both lovable and detestable, perfectly characterizing the age-old dynamic between the need for love and the need for physical pleasure. But this is not a feel-good movie, it is a movie that explores the difficult decisions that confront a person as they mature in both life and love, and it conveys the basic feelings that are present in all human beings, regardless of outward appearances.

I would recommend this as a thought-provoking exploration of human nature.